If you’re investing in a premium OLED like LG’s new C5, it almost feels criminal to rely solely on the TV’s built-in speakers. They’re fine in a pinch but fine doesn’t cut it when you’re watching Predator: Killer of Killers in Dolby Atmos or when Kratos lets out a roar in God of War Ragnarök. This is where LG’s S80TR soundbar steps in—a 5.1.3-channel setup designed to bring cinematic immersion into your living room without the tangle of a full AV receiver system. At $1299, it’s not the most expensive in LG’s lineup, but it promises big-screen sound to match your big-screen visuals.
On paper, the S80TR ticks nearly every box you’d expect at this price. You get 580 watts of total power, a wireless subwoofer that feels more like a small furniture piece than an accessory, and two wireless rear speakers that complete the package. LG’s marketing pushes Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support heavily, along with gaming-friendly HDMI passthrough at 4K/120Hz with VRR and ALLM. Throw in WOW Orchestra, which lets the soundbar work in tandem with your C5 OLED’s built-in speakers, and it sounds like a one-stop solution for both movies and games. But the real test is whether the S80T delivers on that cinematic promise day to day.
Design & Setup: Sleek but With Quirks
Physically, the S80TR is classic LG minimalism. The main bar stretches across the width of a 55-inch TV without overhang, dressed in a matte black finish that avoids fingerprints. The wireless subwoofer is tall and slim, easy enough to hide in a corner but still substantial enough that you know it’s there to do damage. The rear speakers are compact and discreet—perfect for sitting on bookshelves or side tables.
Setup is refreshingly simple. Everything connects wirelessly once powered on, no extra transmitter boxes needed. The soundbar walks you through calibration with LG’s AI Room Calibration, which uses built-in microphones to measure your room and fine-tune levels. It’s not as granular as Dirac or Audyssey on a full receiver, but it works—balancing out the boom from the sub and ensuring the rears don’t overwhelm the front stage.
There is one frustrating caveat: the rear speakers ship with power cables that are far too short. Unless your room has power outlets exactly where you want your rears, you’ll be reaching for extension cords. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it feels like a careless oversight for a premium product. Still, once in place, they genuinely add a sense of depth and dimension that the bar alone simply can’t replicate.
Movies: Power, Clarity, and a Few Missed Heights
The first film I queued up was Predator: Killer of Killers. This is exactly the sort of mix you buy a Dolby Atmos system for—thunderous jungle firefights, whispering foliage, and that iconic growl cutting through. The S80TR’s subwoofer hit with real authority during explosions, shaking the floor just enough to make you sit forward. Dialogue from the up-firing centre channel came through crystal clear, even when buried under layers of gunfire and alien shrieks.
Atmos is the big selling point here, and while the S80TR technically checks the box, overhead effects are where it falls short. That moment when Predator leaps from the trees? You don’t feel him moving above you so much as around you. In the opening sequence of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the epic space battle with General Grevious forces, the S80TR fails to deliver the ships passing over and below, just in front and behind you. The height channels provide a touch of lift, making the soundstage taller than a flat 5.1 system, but it doesn’t fool you into thinking a helicopter is flying over your head. It’s immersive, yes, but not jaw-dropping.
Switch to streaming and the soundbar’s versatility shows. In Andor Season 2, the tension of hushed rebel meetings contrasts beautifully against the chaotic cacophony of that riot scene in the plaza. The rears come alive here—small background details like distant chatter or starship hums subtly anchor you in the world. I loved the fight scene in Predator: Killer of Killers where the ninja arts would fly past you and behind you. Awesome stuff.
The AI Sound Pro processing adds noticeable warmth to dialogue, giving voices natural presence even in the most crowded sound mixes. But as a whole package, the S80TR doesn’t quite deliver that room shaking, cinema experience. Even when I pumped up the volume and increased the Sub-woofer volume, the sound never quite gave me the feels like the Samsung QN990F for instance.
Gaming: Low Latency, Big Impact
If movies are the S80TR’s bread and butter, gaming is the bonus course that makes you grin. The HDMI passthrough fully supports 4K/120Hz with VRR and ALLM, meaning you can plug in a PS5 or Xbox Series X without worrying about losing the performance benefits of your OLED.
In God of War Ragnarök, every axe throw landed with satisfying weight, the reverb from caves filling the room, while the rear channels carried environmental details like wind and wildlife. Combat felt more immediate thanks to the low input lag—the audio kept perfect pace with the visuals, so swings, blocks, and grunts felt instinctively synced.
The Last of Us Part II on PS5 provided a different kind of immersion. The S80TR excelled in drawing out the quiet dread of Ellie’s stealth sequences. The subwoofer didn’t just handle explosions—it carried the low thrum of tension in empty hallways. Rear speakers highlighted footsteps and off-screen threats, making encounters feel more intense and claustrophobic. This is exactly the kind of immersive sound design Naughty Dog builds into its games, and the S80T showcased it beautifully.
Even faster-paced titles benefit. In Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the crisp directional audio made combat cues more readable. Enemy attacks coming from behind the protagonist popped through the rears, while the soundtrack soared cleanly above it all. And for sheer spectacle, Stellar Blade’s over-the-top battles filled the room with cinematic punch, even if those Atmos “overhead” moments still felt more subtle than convincing.
When you’re not blasting aliens or dodging infected, the S80TR handles everyday TV and music with ease. LG’s webOS integration means you can control both TV and soundbar with a single remote, and features like WOW Orchestra expand the soundstage by combining the bar and the OLED’s built-in speakers. It’s a small but clever way to get a little more presence out of the system.
Music playback is solid, though not spectacular. Spotify streams sound warm and balanced, with the sub adding thump without muddying vocals but overall, it’s not as electrifying as I’d like. AI Room Calibration helps here, especially if you move the sub from a corner to a more central spot.
Verdict: A Worthy Companion, With Caveats
The LG S80TR delivers where it matters most: dialogue clarity, surround immersion, and room-filling power. It’s a natural partner for the LG’s own TV’s like the C5 OLED I also reviewed, and for most households it’s a huge upgrade over built-in speakers. Movies feel cinematic, games feel more alive, and even everyday TV benefits from its balance and punch.
But it’s not without its shortcomings. The rear speakers, while genuinely adding depth, come with absurdly short power cables that complicate setup. And that’s not even considering how you would mount them. Dolby Atmos height effects are barely present leading to an underwhelming experience that never quite delivers the “sound from above” illusion that some pricier competitors manage.
If you’re after true overhead immersion, you might feel let down. But if what you want is a versatile, living-room-friendly system that nails the fundamentals—clear voices, powerful bass, wide soundstage—the S80TR is a very compelling package. For pairing with the LG C5 OLED, it feels almost purpose-built: easy to set up, sleek enough to disappear under the TV, and powerful enough to do justice to the stories you watch and play.
At the end of the day, the S80TR won’t transform your living room into a dedicated cinema, but it will get you a long way there without the hassle of an AV receiver and ceiling speakers.
LG Australia kindly loaned the S80TR Sound bar to PowerUp for the purpose of this review.
